After such a period of time, the seawater outside the sphere was dyed red with blood, but the Navy could still vaguely see the bodies of the pirates inside, their deaths extremely miserable.
Carl admired his masterpiece for a while and then asked Sengoku the Buddha, who was still in a daze,
"Admiral Sengoku, I think there are no survivors inside. Do we need to go up and take a look?"
Sengoku came back to his senses, looking at Carl with complicated eyes, and said, "No need, Carl, will that thing always exist there?"
Carl shook his head, raised his hand, and clenched it. The giant sphere in the sky suddenly shrank, and everything was sucked into the black ball at the center. The size of the black ball continued to shrink until it finally disappeared.
To put it bluntly, this black ball was a small black hole created by Carl. The reason why all the matter was not sucked in immediately was because Carl deliberately controlled it, after all, his victory still needed proof.
Now that Sengoku and others had seen it, Carl didn't need to spend this effort anymore. Although the black hole was gone, the shock in the hearts of the Navy still hadn't dissipated for a long time. They couldn't believe that the Flying Pirates, who had roamed the seas, were destroyed by Carl alone.
Carl had taken advantage of the time, place, and people in this battle. After the natural disaster, Golden Lion and his pirate crew had weakened to the extreme, and Carl chose the perfect moment to strike.
Sengoku and others were completely reduced to bystanders in this mission, their only purpose being to send Carl off and witness his victory.
In Marineford, Fleet Admiral Kong was still waiting for news in his office. He crossed his arms, frowned, and thought,
"I don't know what's going on with Sengoku. Roger and Shiki are both difficult to deal with..."
Just as he was deep in thought, there was a knock on the door. Before Kong could respond, Sengoku pushed the door open and walked in. Kong was stunned to see Sengoku, calculating the time—it had only taken Sengoku one round trip.
Could it be that when Sengoku arrived, the battle between Roger and Shiki was already over?
While Kong was stunned, Sengoku quickly approached his desk, took a deep breath, and reported what he knew truthfully. Kong listened, wide-eyed, his expression shifting dramatically.
When he heard that Golden Lion was dead and the Flying Pirates were annihilated, he stood up immediately. Sengoku had anticipated Kong's reaction and stood quietly, allowing Kong to digest the explosive news.
Even though Kong had been the Fleet Admiral of the Navy for many years and maintained a calm demeanor, he couldn't recover for a long time. He sat back in his chair, managing only to ask,
"Where is the body of Golden Lion Shiki?"
Sengoku responded honestly, "There is only one head left, I have had it sealed."
"What about Carl?"
"He went back to the G-1 branch."
Kong was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Sengoku, what do you think of Carl's strength?"
"I don't know. The last time I saw him fight was during the graduation exam a year ago. Now, I don't know exactly how strong he is."
"So, if I promote him to Admiral now, is it too early?"
Sengoku's body trembled, but Kong continued, almost talking to himself.
"Garp has always refused to be promoted to Admiral. Now there are only two Admirals in the Headquarters—you and Zephyr. Compared to the increasingly rampant pirate forces on the sea, the number of Admirals is still too small..."
At this point, Kong looked up at Sengoku and said, "Another point is that Carl's military achievements this time are astounding. What do you think the Headquarters can give him as a reward?"
This aligned with Sengoku's thoughts, as he had pondered the same problem on the way back. Carl's current military rank was Vice Admiral of the Headquarters, and he also held the title of Admiral Candidate. He was just one qualification away from becoming a Navy Admiral.
But what kind of qualifications could match his military exploits this time?
This was the Flying Pirates led by Golden Lion, a dominant force even more powerful than Roger's Pirates! Yet, such a terrifying group was destroyed by Carl alone!
This military achievement was no less significant than Garp's defeat of Rocks in the Valley of Gods. However, Garp's military achievements had been somewhat exaggerated, in reality, Rocks was taken down by a combined effort of the Navy, Roger, and the Knights of God.
The World Government had deliberately erased the involvement of Roger's pirate group, and the Knights of God were not suitable for public promotion. The World Government had no choice but to credit Garp, who performed outstandingly, and to attribute the military success to him. To be honest, the value of Carl's military achievement was equally extraordinary.
If it weren't for the fact that Golden Lion's head was still at the Navy Headquarters, this remarkable feat would seem unbelievable!
If this military achievement were attributed to Garp, then no matter how much he refused the promotion to Admiral, neither the Headquarters nor the World Government would have hesitated to put him in the position of Admiral.
But Carl...
He was only nineteen years old! An Admiral of the Navy who was less than twenty?
Sengoku felt his scalp tingling at the thought, and Kong frowned, tapping the table with his fingers as time passed. Neither wanted to speak.
Until Tsuru pushed the door open, looking at the two men in the office with their frowning faces, she spoke directly, "Are you two thinking about Carl?"
"Hmm?"
Kong and Sengoku finally snapped out of their deep thoughts and turned to Tsuru. She crossed her arms and said,
"Garp has already told me the story. It's unbelievable. Sengoku, it seems what I told you a year ago—that Carl would be the first to become an Admiral—is about to come true."
Sengoku blinked, asking, "Tsuru, do you think Carl is qualified to be an Admiral?"
Tsuru tilted her head and asked, "So do you think that, given Carl's achievements this time, he shouldn't be an Admiral?"
"But Carl's age..."
"Don't dwell on meaningless things anymore. Shiki's head is real. If someone is dissatisfied, aren't Roger, Newgate, and others still alive? Let them bring back their heads—any one of them will do."
Kong and Sengoku struggled with the decision for a long time, but after Tsuru's words, they finally made up their minds. Kong immediately made his decision.
"Good! Then let's spread the news of Golden Lion's death first, and then take advantage of the situation to announce Carl's promotion to Admiral!"
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+80 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg
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